Improve

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. officials offered no comment to rumors that the huge independent may be for sale, but a report Friday in a London publication suggested that Royal Dutch/Shell Group may be considering a $10 billion bid for the company. Shell has played bridesmaid in attempts for the past few years to capture other gas-rich North American independents, but none were as large or as formidable as the world-class producer.

Houston-based independent Swift Energy Co. has increased its 2003 capital budget by 15%, or $20 million, to accommodate additional development drilling, facility upgrades and initial 3-D seismic work in fields located in Louisiana and New Zealand.

Last week Amerada Hess Corp. shook up its operations to improve its bottom line by selling 26 of its Gulf of Mexico shelf properties to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., transferring ownership of North Sea properties to EnCana Corp. and laying off of about 30% of its workforce.

As part of American Electric Power’s (AEP) ongoing efforts to conserve cash, slash debt and improve its balance sheet, the electric utility last Wednesday said that its board of directors approved a 42% reduction in AEP’s quarterly dividend from 60 cents per share to 35 cents per share.

In an effort to conserve cash, slash debt and improve its balance sheet, American Electric Power announced Wednesday that it will cut its dividend by 42% to 35 cents per share. The move was first announced in January. The dividend cut will result in annual cash savings of $340 million, immediately improving retained earnings and creating free cash flow that can be used to pay down debt (see Power Market Today, Jan. 27).

Water levels have increased in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Northwest River Forecast Center (NRFC), which last Thursday raised its forecast for the region in the midst of steady precipitation from an influx of storms over the past two weeks. However, in the Southwest, Lake Powell water levels are at record lows and unlikely to recover soon.

El Paso Corp. announced Thursday that it completed a major financing to improve its balance sheet and completed the $500 million sale of its Midcontinent natural gas and oil reserves to Chesapeake Energy Corp.

New energy legislation introduced in British Columbia is expected to save money and improve services for the province’s industry and customers, Energy and Mines Minister Richard Neufeld said Thursday.

Higher oil and natural gas prices have not overcome market volatility enough to help energy companies improve their rates of investment through 2010, according to a new study by Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).